WootBot

What's the cure for too many computers? MORE COMPUTERS! Notebooks! Laptops! Desktops! They compute and compute and compute again! We think there might even be an abacus in here somewhere but we can't stop to check because COMPUTERS!

alexjl

jlayton42 wrote:I really want to pull the trigger on that Alienware PC, anyone out there able to maybe talk me out of/into it?

You should have no reason to buy a gaming PC when you have absolutely no idea what you are purchasing.

The CPU is a second gen I7. In reality it really doesn't make much difference if it's 1st gen of 4th gen i7, for most gaming any i7 is good enough. 16gb is more than enough to fulfill any need. After that the computer is nothing but mediocre.

The video card is inadequate in having only 1GB of ram, it also painfully slow.

For the price and Alienware name you would expect at least a mid range video card, not a graphics card from your mom's Dell. You would even expect a SSD at this price range for a $1000 2600k build.

mclovintonite

Hate to be "that guy" but the Toshiba laptop says it is "Powered by the latest Intel® 3rd generation Core™ i7-3630QM quad-core processor" and that's kind of false advertising because it is not the latest: 4th generation Haswell chips are available.

zyodei

Look at that i7 Acer powerhouse, and look at those MacBook Pros, and tell me that the Apple tax is not still alive and well. That's around 100% more expensive for the fruit logo and their take on a Unix desktop...

zyodei

I love Thinkpads to the extent that I really only buy Thinkpad (Thinkpad ♥ Linux), but the 8GB max kills it for me. I am perfectly happy using my perfectly quick $100 Core2Duo X61s that is more portable and draws less power..its only drawback being it only has 4GB and tops at 8GB. Same max and default as this laptop that is five years newer

mechanicsc

zyodei wrote:I love Thinkpads to the extent that I really only buy Thinkpad (Thinkpad ♥ Linux), but the 8GB max kills it for me. I am perfectly happy using my perfectly quick $100 Core2Duo X61s that is more portable and draws less power..its only drawback being it only has 4GB and tops at 8GB. Same max and default as this laptop that is five years newer

Many 2-slot Thinkpads can support 16 GB of RAM, even though the specs say "max 8 GB".

nmchapma

zyodei wrote:I love Thinkpads to the extent that I really only buy Thinkpad (Thinkpad ♥ Linux), but the 8GB max kills it for me. I am perfectly happy using my perfectly quick $100 Core2Duo X61s that is more portable and draws less power..its only drawback being it only has 4GB and tops at 8GB. Same max and default as this laptop that is five years newer

I dispise thinkpads and lenovo in general. I had one a few years ago that had to have almost every major part replaced under warranty. The POS was falling apart from day 1 and Lenovo wouldn't replace it. I spent almost $2k on that computer and the customer service was terrible.

adamclemence

That Toshiba S855-S5165 is looking at me funny. Real funny. It's telling me to buy it. Any computer-savvy people out there to give me the cons? Yea, it's reconditioned but it's a Toshiba. It has many rams.

bmxkid618

adamclemence wrote:That Toshiba S855-S5165 is looking at me funny. Real funny. It's telling me to buy it. Any computer-savvy people out there to give me the cons? Yea, it's reconditioned but it's a Toshiba. It has many rams.

Intel HD 4000, 'nuf said xD. Whats the point of all dem rams and cores if u don't have parts that can take advantage of it.

jon98gn

jlayton42 wrote:I really want to pull the trigger on that Alienware PC, anyone out there able to maybe talk me out of/into it?

If you are that determined to get an Alienware for the Look factor, I would probably shop the Dell Outlet and watch for a special coupon. I picked up an Alienware X51 scratch and dent (more like dust marks) for $450ish after tax + shipping. It had a third generation i5, blu-ray player, 8 GB RAM, nVidia GT 660, 1 TB harddrive. Not an i7 so not sure how it compares exactly.

I also had an odd go around which I got a refurbished one for $540ish tax + shipping which was the same version above but it had the alienware tactx keyboard and only a 500 GB harddrive. This one actually failed on me and I was able to argue a new exchange model which took 3 months to get to me, due to the Haswell refresh so I ended up with an i5 Haswell/1 TB harddrive/nVidia GT 670 for my troubles. Not sure if it was worth my troubles but the machine retails for over $1k and I paid 50% for it.

Slare

I have yet to see a Woot PC or laptop deal that is really all that great.

The % off looks really good at times, but these are computers we are talking about here, and they are generally refurbished HP's (!) or older models.

Might be some "good" deals if you do most of your computer and laptop shopping at the mall or Best Buy. But they are not very good deals if you are willing to do a little research at any of the major PC deal sites out there.

newspimp

zyodei wrote:Look at that i7 Acer powerhouse, and look at those MacBook Pros, and tell me that the Apple tax is not still alive and well. That's around 100% more expensive for the fruit logo and their take on a Unix desktop...

Let's do a comparison.
That Acer (http://www.woot.com/offers/acer-aspire-s3-13-3-core-i7-ultrabook-1)
versus a Macbook Air 13" (the most comparable computer to an Ultrabook)

Acer: 4GB Maximum Memory
Apple: 8GB Maximum Memory
Winner: Tie; they're both limited to what you order with them (at least according to Acer), but the Apple can be ordered with 8GB at an additional $100 over the cost above

Acer: 128GB SATA/300 SSD (300Mb/sec)
Apple: 128GB PCIe SSD (800MB/sec)
Winner: Apple, both are upgradable but the Apple is a bit more aftermarket, but absolutely dominates in performance

Acer: No Optical Drive, No Ethernet Port
Apple: No Optical Drive, No Ethernet Port
Winner: Tied. They both lose, IMHO. Though, the Acer would rely on a USB to Ethernet adapter, which can't be truly gigabit throughput rated, but the MBA uses a Thunderbolt to Ethernet, which can be as TB is essentially an esternal PCIe port.

Acer: HDMI Out
Apple: Thunderbolt out
Winner: Draw to me; The Apple does require an adapter, but can do higher resolutions more reliably with proper adapters than HDMI. HDMI is easier to hookup to a TV though. Either will need an adapter for most DVI or VGA monitors.

Acer: 2.95lb
Apple: 2.96lb
Winner: Tie really. If you care about 0.01lb then you have other issues.

Acer: Windows 7 Home Premium
Apple: OSX
Winner: Tie if you like Windows. Apple if you like Unix. Acer if you like Linux, assuming it's hardware is Linux compatible.

So, a "tax" on a newer generation of processor, newer generation of RAM, newer graphics, better display, double the battery, a more future-proof WiFi and a SSD technology that blows SATA out of the water; I'd say it's worth the extra $579. Then again, we bought my girlfriend hers over the weekend with Best Buy's $200 off for back to school, making that only $379 more for a computer that will last much longer.

I'm all about a good inexpensive laptop (I get almost as much use out of my Chromebook running Arch as I do my 2008 17" MBP) but when objectively looked at, you're not paying more for the same hardware. You're paying more for better hardware usually. Are there better deals, of course. But the Macs I've had have lasted much longer in use than the Dells and Lenovos I've had. Only my Asus laptop has held us even close to the same as my Macs.

LAugustine

Slare wrote:I have yet to see a Woot PC or laptop deal that is really all that great.

The % off looks really good at times, but these are computers we are talking about here, and they are generally refurbished HP's (!) or older models.

Might be some "good" deals if you do most of your computer and laptop shopping at the mall or Best Buy. But they are not very good deals if you are willing to do a little research at any of the major PC deal sites out there.

This would be almost perfect except if you need 2 tb of storage. But you can buy 2tb for 100 and plug it in easy.

Not to also be "that guy," but iBuyPower? Man, they're great if you like endless quality issues.

To really be "that guy," you should really build if you're going for raw power under $1000. Otherwise you get something that someone skimped on. There are really no deals for raw power at that price range. You can get deals for less-than-raw power, but anything even remotely powerful and under $1000 will almost definitely have quality issues. See: CyberPC, iBuyPower, etc. I get that not everyone wants to build their own, but if you don't you should be willing to take somewhat lesser power for better build quality. Hell, it isn't like anything is really taxing a PC these days.

Acer: 4GB Maximum Memory
Apple: 8GB Maximum Memory
Winner: Tie; they're both limited to what you order with them (at least according to Acer), but the Apple can be ordered with 8GB at an additional $100 over the cost above

Acer: 128GB SATA/300 SSD (300Mb/sec)
Apple: 128GB PCIe SSD (800MB/sec)
Winner: Apple, both are upgradable but the Apple is a bit more aftermarket, but absolutely dominates in performance

Acer: No Optical Drive, No Ethernet Port
Apple: No Optical Drive, No Ethernet Port
Winner: Tied. They both lose, IMHO. Though, the Acer would rely on a USB to Ethernet adapter, which can't be truly gigabit throughput rated, but the MBA uses a Thunderbolt to Ethernet, which can be as TB is essentially an esternal PCIe port.

Acer: HDMI Out
Apple: Thunderbolt out
Winner: Draw to me; The Apple does require an adapter, but can do higher resolutions more reliably with proper adapters than HDMI. HDMI is easier to hookup to a TV though. Either will need an adapter for most DVI or VGA monitors.

Acer: 2.95lb
Apple: 2.96lb
Winner: Tie really. If you care about 0.01lb then you have other issues.

Acer: Windows 7 Home Premium
Apple: OSX
Winner: Tie if you like Windows. Apple if you like Unix. Acer if you like Linux, assuming it's hardware is Linux compatible.

So, a "tax" on a newer generation of processor, newer generation of RAM, newer graphics, better display, double the battery, a more future-proof WiFi and a SSD technology that blows SATA out of the water; I'd say it's worth the extra $579. Then again, we bought my girlfriend hers over the weekend with Best Buy's $200 off for back to school, making that only $379 more for a computer that will last much longer.

I'm all about a good inexpensive laptop (I get almost as much use out of my Chromebook running Arch as I do my 2008 17" MBP) but when objectively looked at, you're not paying more for the same hardware. You're paying more for better hardware usually. Are there better deals, of course. But the Macs I've had have lasted much longer in use than the Dells and Lenovos I've had. Only my Asus laptop has held us even close to the same as my Macs.

the7654

nmchapma wrote:I dispise thinkpads and lenovo in general. I had one a few years ago that had to have almost every major part replaced under warranty. The POS was falling apart from day 1 and Lenovo wouldn't replace it. I spent almost $2k on that computer and the customer service was terrible.

I have numerous IBM Thinkpads that are still in use and haven't had issues. I also have newer Lenovos without issues. I have had IBMs and Lenovos with problems but I have always found them to be more reliable than other the brands of computers.

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